We have a launch date. Of course, we'll see if Blizzard sticks to it -- I'm hoping they do, because otherwise I will have taken those days off work for nothing. For just the next few minutes, however, let's pretend that Sept. 25 will be the day that the continent of Pandaria opens up to us and all of that shiny new loot becomes ours for the taking.

As we level, quests and dungeons will offer the majority of our gear. When we reach the level cap of 90, another option opens up to us: reputations. Sadly, raising these reputations won't be as easy as running a handful of random dungeons with a tabard on like it was in Wrath and Cataclysm, but getting to know your allies in Mists is still very important.

I have risked life and limb (and repair costs from running through high-level zones, getting dazed off my mount and pummeled into a paste) to seek out the various quartermasters to see what they have to offer. Before I begin, a couple of notes:

Without solid stat weights to go off, determining the quality of a piece of gear in the Mists beta is a bit more dubious than it is on live. Until we see those numbers, I will withhold judgment and merely present the options.

A few items (mostly profession patterns) cost gold, but most are purchasable with valor points (VP). All gold costs are before faction discounts.

This being a beta, anything is subject to change. I cannot be held liable if you spend 5,000 valor points on what turns out to be a giant foam sword.

Finally, spoiler alert! There are screenshots after the break, as well as brief descriptions of the different factions you will encounter.

Shado-Pan

The eternal enemies of the sha and guardians of Pandaria, the Shado-Pan have a few things to offer a fresh level 90 ret paladin. You can find their quartermaster, Rushi the Fox, in Shado-Pan Garrison, Townlong Steppes.

A small group of mantid untouched by the corruption of the sha, the Klaxxi are a bunch of friendly bug-people. Well, I'm not sure friendly is the right word there -- perhaps non-hostile is a more apt description. Their quartermaster, Ambersmith Zikk, stands in Klaxxi'vess, Dread Wastes.

The August Celestials are the stoic defenders of the continent's sacred temples from the corrupting influence of the sha. This distinguishes them from the Shado-Pan because -- well, because they're just different, OK? Their quartermasters, Sage Lotusbloom (Horde, pictured) and Sage Whiteheart (Alliance, camera-shy) are located in the Shrine of Two Moons and the Shrine of Seven Stars, respectively, within the Vale of Eternal Blossoms.

Lastly, the Celestials decided that to rip off the Klaxxi and produce some very similar patterns of their own for their plate DPS customers: Plans: Breastplate of Ancient Steel and Plans: Gauntlets of Ancient Steel, both available for 50g a pop. The differences between the two are so minimal (27 crit vs. 27 mastery for the chests, 12 crit vs. 8 mastery for the gloves) that I wonder why such similar items were even created. Hopefully, one or more of these items gets a tweaking to their secondary stats before the game goes live, because man alive, what a boring set of craftables!

The Golden Lotus is a secretive society of pandaren that is devoted to dealing with the mogu who have returned seeking to reclaim their lands and former empire. Unfortunately, Black Lotus, Crimson Lotus, Fel Lotus, Frost Lotus, and Purple Lotus were already taken, so they settled on the golden variety. Their quartermaster, Jaluu the Generous, can be found near Mogu'shan Palace in Vale of Eternal Blossoms.